The article discusses the concept of social presence in computer-mediated conferencing (CMC) and its importance in educational settings. Social presence is defined as the ability of learners to project themselves socially and emotionally into a community of inquiry. The authors present a model of teaching and learning that incorporates social presence, cognitive presence, and teaching presence. They argue that CMC can support high levels of interaction and is becoming the dominant choice for distance learning in many institutions. The article outlines a framework for assessing social presence through content analysis of conference transcripts. It includes a template for assessing social presence, along with interrater reliability figures. The authors also discuss the implications of assessing social presence for instructors, conference moderators, and researchers. They highlight the importance of social presence in fostering a warm, open, and trusting environment that supports deep and meaningful learning. The article also explores the relationship between social presence and other elements of the community of inquiry model, such as cognitive presence and teaching presence. The authors conclude that social presence is a critical component of effective distance education and that further research is needed to fully understand its role in learning.The article discusses the concept of social presence in computer-mediated conferencing (CMC) and its importance in educational settings. Social presence is defined as the ability of learners to project themselves socially and emotionally into a community of inquiry. The authors present a model of teaching and learning that incorporates social presence, cognitive presence, and teaching presence. They argue that CMC can support high levels of interaction and is becoming the dominant choice for distance learning in many institutions. The article outlines a framework for assessing social presence through content analysis of conference transcripts. It includes a template for assessing social presence, along with interrater reliability figures. The authors also discuss the implications of assessing social presence for instructors, conference moderators, and researchers. They highlight the importance of social presence in fostering a warm, open, and trusting environment that supports deep and meaningful learning. The article also explores the relationship between social presence and other elements of the community of inquiry model, such as cognitive presence and teaching presence. The authors conclude that social presence is a critical component of effective distance education and that further research is needed to fully understand its role in learning.